Time Apart
by Ethereal Vesper
Summary: Taking a break from her Queenly duties, Mercedes decides it's time for her to take part in her favorite past time: Frog Hunting. But for whatever reason, she's thinking about a certain frog, turned human, instead. A bit of humor, but more of a romance. Mx


Time Apart 

A Mecedes x Ingway Fanfiction (why? Because I gotta)

**Disclaimer: **No, I do not own Odin Sphere. It belongs to their own original creators and Atlus.

**Author's Note:** So I woke up this morning very early and very inspired, and this what I came up with. As far as game play, I'm still playing through Oswald's book and am currently getting my butt kicked Odin. I hate that guy. But I'm holding out for this weekend to play through it. Anyway, I took a few stabs at making this slightly amusing because Mercedes is overall a pretty lively and funny character. Don't be too harsh on me if I failed miserably.

**-0.000.0-**

"And that makes twenty!"

The amphibian that had unfortunately crossed her path that afternoon croaked in pain as the blast from her mother's trusted bow pierced it's slimy exterior---with its arms outstretched towards the heavens, it looked as if it were trying to savor its last few moments of its short, somewhat meaningless life.

But its last attempt at dramatics lasted one second too long, as a second crimson blast came hurdling towards it, immediately decaying its body into fodder for her weapon. "Took long enough," came the grumpy reply as Mercedes touched down onto the ground, picking up the 'spoils' of battle. "Man…I HATE these things!" she cried, picking up a simple overcooked bun that the frog had most likely stolen from some peddler. "Why couldn't this be an apple strudel?" she whined.

Still, she would be lucky if she could sell the unappealing human food to some chump later down the line. She sighed, placing it inside one of her many bags that she had acquired over the past few months. Frog hunting definitely wasn't as it used to be. Here she was, inside one of the best grounds for her _sport_, and yet it just didn't feel right. Something constantly tugged at her whilst she engaged in hunting the godforsaken creatures. _Maybe I just feel really guilty_, she mused to herself, taking to the air once more. _Oh, there I go __**again. **_For whatever reason, she felt as if she owed the frog community…a ridiculous concept for sure. If anything, she owed the sorcerer kind, but she refused to give any praise to the likes of Beldor and Urzur; they had caused her far too much, and, honestly, they were a bunch of conniving old men. At any rate, they had all given her the chance to meet him, the one frog, turned human, that truly made her feel. And not anything that she could simply put aside either…she felt something strong, something so powerful that she was beginning to loathe the fact that they were simply leading two different lives so far away from one another.

It wasn't fair.

**Croaaaaaaakkkkk.** The sharp, obnoxious, cry brought the young queen out of her thoughts almost immediately. Readying her bow, she scanned the area for any sign of frog life, descending ever so slightly to make an easy shot when the time came. **Croooaaaakkk.** Mercedes frowned as a sharper, even more obnoxious, sound reached her ears.

_This is getting ridiculous, _she thought irritably, her butterfly like wings fluttering quickly so that she would gain more speed. _If I hear one more croak, I swear to the gods that---_She froze as, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed two frogs huddled next to another, the larger one of the two had its arm around the other as if it were claiming it. _That's really disturbing._ Without a second thought, she took aim, waiting, like the predator that she was, for the most opportune moment.

And then it happened again. That same really annoying croak that had disturbed her twice before, but, this time, she noticed something different. "THEY'RE **SERENADING** EACH OTHER??" she asked, a bit too loudly, for as she soon as the first syllable left her mouth the pair had scuttled off into the opposite direction. Lucky for them.

Defeated, Mercedes lowered herself almost to ground level, landing on a nicely sized stone to sit upon. _I never knew frogs had the capability to do that…even if it is creepy, annoying, and just the most romantic thing I've ever seen!_ And at that moment, she felt as if all the progress she had made, all the 'growing up' she had done over the previous weeks and months had suddenly meant nothing.

Everything that she accomplished had been done at his side. And now that he had gone for whatever personal motives that he had, she felt unsure, weak, and, most importantly, lonely. Of course, she still had Matthew; she knew that she would always have him as dwarves had a ridiculously long lifespan. But, try as he may, he could never fulfill the hole in her heart that only Ingway could seal.

Of course, she had hoped that they would somehow meet again, that some way she would be able to tell him how she really felt, and that he would take her anywhere, however far away that they had to travel so they could be together…forever…

But that was a child's fantasy. She had a country to run, subjects to please, and an impending war to fight. Hell, it probably was wrong of her to leave Ringford in Matthew's hands so she could go _play_ in Elrit. Still, what a wonderful dream it could be, to run into him after so long in the exact place that they had originally met.

"Ingway…" she whispered softly, savoring the sound of his name as it escaped from her lips. All this exercise and running around foolishly had drained most of her energy, and she wanted nothing more than to take a short nap before returning to her duties. And perhaps even to take part in a fantastic dream that could only happen in her own thoughts.

Sliding down the large stone, she positioned herself so that her back could comfortably lean against it. To her side, she put down her bow so it would still be close enough to grab if some foolish animal or human tried to pull anything funny. "I'll get them…" she muttered, the lids of her crimson eyes growing heavy as she descended into a well-deserved sleep.

She awoke several hours later with a sore back and feeling far worse than she had earlier in the day. "Matthew is going to kill me!" she cried, knowing full well that he would have the entire army search for her if need be. Quickly, she wiped stray particles of dust and earth off of her to make herself look a little more like a queen and less like some homeless wanderer.

She reached down for her bow, but something odd, something that didn't belong, caught her attention. A single violet rose was placed down upon the psypher of her bow… "This…" she said, a slight blush gracing her cheeks. "This only grows in…it couldn't be…"

Instinctively, she looked around in hopes that someone, anyone, would be there to give her some sort of explanation, but there were none.

And yet, she felt the need to say something. "Thank you and I l--" she cut her words short, not wanting her confession to be like this, not when he might not be there to hear them. Pushing her feelings aside, she ascended into the air, turning back towards her home, so very tempted to look back.

And perhaps if she did, she may have noticed a figure hiding within the shadows, arms crossed, silently watching over her, as he did when she slept, as he always tried to do when she was out in the forest. And although she did not know it, and maybe never get to know it, he had been yearning to hear those words, the words that she could not bring herself to say. But for now, he would remain in the shadows, only to watch her from afar as he did now.

For this time apart had not been any easier for him to bear, and it took all that he had not to reveal himself, to hold her, and to claim her as his own. It was on that day that he swore that he would make the Fairy Queen his one way or another…

And they would both live the fantasy, however short or long it was meant to be.


End file.
